The Human Power of Pause
When was the last time you hit the pause button in life?
Literally — stopped fighting fires, stopped trying to satisfy others at all cost, stopped working all hours and instead, gave yourself the gift of time and thinking space for your own benefit and wellbeing.
If the answer is ‘I can’t remember’ or ‘there’s no way I can pause my life’, then let me ask you this:
What impact could continuously doing things, without pause, be having on yourself?
The fact you are reading this blog means I can invite you to take this opportunity to hit pause right now and just think about this question for a few minutes.
Let me share with you some responses to this question from some amazing human beings that I have had the privilege of coaching, and see if they resonate with your thinking:
“Exhaustion”
“There’s no time to think”
“It negatively affects my work and personal life”
“It’s unsustainable”
Read that last one again.
“It’s unsustainable”.
There is no logic in us doing something that cannot be sustained for the longer term.
There is no benefit that outweighs the harm we may cause ourselves by ‘continuously doing’, particularly if what we are doing is frequently stressful.
This realisation is often the key that unlocks the decision to do things differently. To change mindsets.
To value the power of the pause.
So, what did those amazing human beings do when they had this realisation?
They decided to prioritise themselves and their own wellbeing and they committed to taking specific actions.
One individual went on to establish firmer boundaries in both their work and personal life, ensuring the were not constantly at the ‘beck and call’ of others.
Another began to say ‘no’ more at work, and better negotiate their workload so an 8-hour workday would not regularly become 12 hours.
There was also someone who scheduled and then vehemently protected gaps in their diary to allow for pauses.
All of these fellow humans could feel themselves deteriorating mentally and physically. They all knew they were riding a rollercoaster downhill with no chance of it slowing down.
But it was not until they hit pause, that they truly had the time and space they needed to think.
And once they had that thinking space, they were able to purposefully acknowledge that the way they had been living life wasn’t sustainable. Change was needed.
And with that steely determination, they swiftly took action.
All because they paused.
So tell me — when will your next pause be?
